Valve for controlling flow through a flexible tube



J- L. CLARK July 4, 1967 VALVE FOR CONTROLLING FLOW THROUGH A FLEXIBLE TUBE Filed March 9, 1964 HWENTQR JAMES L. CLARK 22 BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent VALVE FUR CONTROLLING FLOW THROUGH A FLEXIBLE TUBE James L. Clark, Whitefish Bay, Wis, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Plastronics, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Mar. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 350,491 2 Claims. (Cl. 2514) This invention relates to an improved valve means for controlling flow through a flexible tube.

The object of this invention is to provide a valve which is of very simple construction and which can be readily manipulated to adjust fiow of fluid through a flexible tube.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the various parts which make up the valve of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the valve of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views of the valve positioned for use on a flexible tube.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 the valve is comprised of four parts which includes three strips of plastic 12, 14 and 16 and a strip of metal 18. To fabricate the valve the three strips of plastic are placed one on top of each other with the metal strip 18 positioned between plastic strips 12 and 14. With the parts so positioned, the longitudinal edges 20 of the plastic strips are then sealed together by any suitable means such as by electronic welding. As shown in FIG. 2, the top strip 16 of plastic is of slightly shorter length than the bottom two strips 12 and 14 between which metal strip 18 is positioned. This facilitates the sealing of edges 20' and the ends 22 of strips 12 and 14 in a single operation to thus completely enclose the metal strip 18 within the valve structure itself. Metal strip 18 is preferably of steel having a thickness of about .015 inch. The size and thickness of strip 18 will vary of course with the overall size of the valve structure itself. Similarly, while the material of strips 12, 14 and 16 canvary to some extent it is preferred that such strips be made from polyvinyl chloride sheet material.

The valve structure that results from the fabricating steps outlined above is in the form of a tubular member having a metal strip mounted in the wall thereof. To use the valve on a flexible tube 24 the tube is simply inserted through the tubular opening 26 formed in the valve structure as shown in FIG. 4 and positioned on the tube at whichever point it is desired to regulate flow. As shown in FIG. 5, flow can be regulated by simply pinching the valve into a U-shaped configuration which, in turn, will pinch shut the tube at the bottom of the U. The clamp will retain the position to which it is bent because of the metal strip 18. If it is desired to allow only a reduced flow through tube 24, the valve is simply bent to a somewhat lesser angular degree than that shown in FIG. 5. Similarly, if it is desired to completely open the tube once it has been shut this can be accomplished by simply bending the valve back to its original position shown in FIG. 4.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appende claims.

I claim:

1. Valve means for use on a flexible tube comprising: an elongated tubular plastic member adapted for fitting over the exterior of a flexible tube, said member comprised of three sheets of plastic material sealed to each other along the longitudinal edges thereof, said tubular member having a strip of malleable material positioned between two of the three plastic members, the ends of said two plastic members being sealed together to retain the strip of malleable material therebetween.

2. Valve means according to claim 1 in which the two plastic members specified in claim *1 are of slightly greater length than the third plastic member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,037,406 9/1912 Albers 251-4 XR 2,922,613 1/1960 Beacham et a1. 251-4 3,056,980 10/1962 Holladay 1562 92 WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

R. GERARD, Assistant Examiner. 

1. VALVE MEANS FOR USE ON A FLEXIBLE TUBE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED TUBULAR PLASTIC MEMBER ADAPTED FOR FITTING OVER THE EXTERIOR OF A FLEXIBLE TUBE, SAID MEMBER COMPRISED OF THREE SHEETS OF PLASTIC MATERIAL SEALED TO EACH OTHER ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES THEREOF, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A STRIP OF MALLEABLE MATERIAL POSITIONED BETWEEN TWO OF THE THREE PLASTIC MEMBERS, THE ENDS OF SAID TWO PLASTIC MEMBERS BEING SEALED TOGETHER TO RETAIN THE STRIP OF MALLEABLE MATERIAL THEREBETWEEN. 